Close Call
by piggycat350
Summary: He'd nearly lost her three times, in three different scenarios. The first was silly, the second stupid, and the third was just plain scary. Blatantly Natsu/Lucy. One-shot.


A Fairy Tail fanfic

Close Call

Standard disclaimers apply.

* * *

As he laid on his back, looking up at the unusually overcast sky, a thought hit him. He had almost lost her three times. His heart skipped a beat, as memories came flowing in. Three times where he had nearly lost her forever.

The first time was literally. It was stupid, almost.

If not for the fact that it scared him silly in the process.

* * *

"Luucccyyy!" He whined, tugging on her hand as he tried to get her to move.

The girl shook her head, feet planted firmly. "No means no, Natsu!" She shot him an exasperated look. "I really, really don't wanna go. Why don't you take Happy and the two of you just go ahead and enjoy yourselves?"

"Awww!" The pink-haired boy pouted. "But it'd be no fun without you!"

The blue cat nodded in agreement. "Aye! Won't you come with us, Lucy?"

The girl laughed, touched. She ruffled the blue cat's fur. "You guys! Just go!" She shot a look at the building behind her partners, shivering slightly. "I'll give this a miss. Haunted houses are not my thing."

The other two pouted, showing such similar expressions that the blond mage laughed. She gave them a firm push towards the entrance. "Seriously! Just go! I'll be waiting at the exit. Ready to console you guys!" She teased, winking.

"Hmph! This is child's play!" Natsu snorted and stomped towards the entrance, Happy in tow. "Just wait and see, Lucy!"

Their partner just laughed and waved at their retreating backs, her fingers crossed and hoping they would not start attacking the 'monsters'.

:::

Five minutes later…

"This is scarrrry, Natsu!" The blue cat wailed, as he clung around Natsu's neck, eyes squeezed shut. "I wanna go back out! I want Lucy!"

The fire dragonslayer swallowed hard, and privately agreed, wondering why the hell he was so insistent on entering the haunted house. Not that he would admit it, or give Lucy the pleasure of knowing that. He took a cautious step, pressing his back against the wall, as he peeked around the corner.

And came face to face with a big and ugly ogre.

"ARGHHH!" Instinctively he raised a flamed fist and swung it towards the monster's face. The impact cracked the poor guy's mask into two, and he doubled up in pain, clutching at his face and possibly broken nose.

Natsu and Happy looked on, and exchanged horrified looks. They had promised Lucy they wouldn't cause any trouble before she had very reluctantly agreed to accompany them to the amusement park. Natsu thought fast, this needed a mature and diplomatic approach in order t–

"RUN!" Happy hollered and flew ahead. It was every cat for himself.

Swearing under his breath, Natsu followed, fists enflamed to light his way. Screw being diplomatic and mature. He would grab Lucy and they would get out of the amusement park as fast as they could. It wasn't that fun anyway.

After fighting off other furious monsters and ghosts trying to capture them, and wrecking a good half of the house itself, the two finally tumbled out of the exit. Natsu dashed out, panting and looked around, his brows furrowing when he could not spot what he wanted to see.

"Where's Lucy?" The cat flew over and sat on his shoulders, exhausted.

The boy shrugged, and sniffed the air, perplexed when he could not smell the fruity scent that was Lucy's. He took a step, and called out. "Lucy?"

There was no answer.

"Lu– Lucy?" The cat laughed nervously. "This isn't funny."

Natsu was starting to get worried. It was not like Lucy to just leave her partners alone and go off by herself. He took a few steps towards the concession stands, and broke into a run. Happy was already flying above the crowd, trying to spot the celestial mage from above.

"Lucy!" The two called out repeatedly, dread filling them when they still failed to find their partner. Natsu was sniffing the air desperately, but the smells of popcorn, cotton candy and the general crowd made it difficult for him to catch any distinct scent.

"Natsu!" He looked up, Happy was gesturing wildly and flew ahead. Natsu followed, pushing through the crowd, and before long, a blond head bobbed into his sight.

"LUCY!" He reached out and tugged the girl around, his heart beating wildly.

A resounding smack sounded through the crowd. Natsu stumbled backwards, clutching the side of his face, more surprised than in pain. The blond woman was definitely not Lucy. The not-Lucy swung her handbag towards the dragonslayer, screaming senseless. Even his sensitive ears could only pick up things like "Pervert!", "Thief!".

He ducked and turned around, putting as much distance as he could between him and the raving, bag-swinging lady, not stopping until he could not even hear the woman anymore. He stopped by a fountain, and sat on the ledge, breathing hard. Their supposed day off at the amusement park was getting less fun by the minute. Happy fluttered down, and sat by the boy.

"Sorry, Natsu." The cat wore a forlorn expression. "I thought that was Lucy."

"Not your fault." He stroked the cat affectionately, and leaned back. "Ahhh… Where is she?"

"NATSU DRAGNEEL!"

The shout startled the boy, and he tumbled backwards, landing with a loud splash in the fountain. He could hear a pair of feet running towards him, and sat up at the same moment Lucy leaned over the fountain. Their heads collided hard, and the two fell backwards, clutching their heads and groaning in pain.

Lucy recovered first. She sat up, eyes watering in pain. "What in the world are you doing?" She grimaced as she rubbed the bruise on her forehead.

"LUCY!" A blue blur zoomed towards her and clutched her tightly. Lucy looked down, startled. "What's the matter, Happy?"

The blue feline looked up at her with big watery eyes. "We couldn't find you, Lucy!"

The girl blinked. "Couldn't find me?" She looked towards the pink-haired boy, who was still moaning in pain, and back down at the cat. "What do you mean couldn't find me? I couldn't find you guys!"

Happy squeaked and flew off towards a still-moaning Natsu. "Lucy's scarrrry! Even more than those ugly monsters!" Ignoring her indignant 'hey!', Happy prodded at his friend. "Natsu? Are you all right?"

The boy shook his head, and stood up, swaying slightly, the water on him already evaporating from his unnaturally high temperature. He stared in Lucy's direction, blinking as two Lucys focused into one. One who had her arms crossed and looking extremely pissed off.

"Lucy?"

"Yes, Natsu?" Tapping her feet impatiently.

"Lucy?" He shook his head, trying to clear it, and looked back up. He blinked, and an ear-splitting grin spread across his face. "LUCY!" He hurtled towards her, and engulfed her in a scorching hug.

"N-Natsu?" She spluttered out, her cheeks a deep red, and tried in vain to wiggle out, already perspiring profusely in his arms. "W-Wha–"

"I thought I lost you." She stopped struggling. His voice was muffled, but she heard him fine. She sighed and wrapped her arms around him awkwardly, gently patting his back.

"I wasn't lost. I was waiting for the two of you by the exit." She frowned. "I waited for quite a while, but couldn't find you two. So I walked around the place. I'd thought maybe you two went off without me." There was an uncertain tone in her voice.

"Never!" He pulled back in one motion, nearly causing her to lose her footing. She blinked, and swallowed hard under his intense gaze. "We would never leave you behind!"

Lucy felt her heart lift. "Thanks, Natsu." Smiling slightly, she put out her hand for him to hold. "C'mon. Lets go home. I'm rather tired out. Happy!" The blue cat flew after them, settling on Natsu's shoulders, exhausted as well. As they walked in comfortable silence, Lucy mused aloud.

"Hmmm. Strange though. While waiting for you guys, I heard a commotion at the other end of the building. Apparently, some troublemakers wrecked the place and ran out from the employees' exit." She glanced sideways. "You guys didn't hear anything while in there?"

The fire dragonslayer nearly tripped over his feet. He caught himself before he fell, and looked back at a suspicious Lucy. He laughed nervously.

"O-Of course not! We finished the course without any problems! Right, Happy!" He sped up his walking, pulling Lucy along.

"A-Aye!"

"W-Wait, Nats–"

"C'mon Lucy! Can't be hanging around now!" They were full out sprinting now. "Lets hurry back to the Guild and find an awesome mission!"

"Aye!"

"G-Guys!"

* * *

He chuckled as the memories from their day off at the amusement park came to him. Lucy never quite believed their excuses, though she had let it go and never pressed them for an explanation.

That was Lucy. Always ready to believe and put her trust in her comrades.

He took in a deep breath, and smelt incoming rain. That would explain the starless night sky, though he made no move to change position.

He stretched and remembered the second time he almost lost her.

It was over some stupid reason he could not remember now, and it was then that he learnt how dysfunctional his life became without her in it.

* * *

"Fine! Be like that then!" She stood, slamming her hands on the table, a furious expression on her face.

"Fine!" He shot to his feet, slamming his hands down as well, though the table split into two under his force.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Similar snarls on their faces, they glared at each other for a moment, before Lucy turned and stomped out of the guild, leaving a still glaring Natsu staring at her retreating back. The fire dragonslayer then growled before stomping out of the doors as well.

The guild was in absolute silence and shock. One of their most compatible couples practically just broke up before them. There were several nervous titters. This had to be a joke, right? Was it some 'Fool your guildmates day'? It had to be! No way would Natsu and Lucy fight otherwise! It was unthinkable.

"Happy!" Mirajane hissed at the blue feline. The blue cat trotted to the bar unsteadily, looking shell-shocked.

"Happy! What's going on?" Mirajane whispered urgently. "Are those two practising for some stage act?"

The cat looked up at the white-haired maiden, and blinked.

"Happy?" Mirajane asked, concerned.

Happy sniffed, and started wailing. "Mira-sannnn!" Mirajane was flustered.

"What's the matter?"

"Help them, please! Lucy and Natsu are not acting! They're really, really angry with each other!"

"W-What? So they're not putting on an act?"

He shook his head, still snivelling.

"It's all for real?"

He nodded, rubbing at his tear-stained cheeks.

Mirajane also nodded at this revelation, and promptly dropped into a faint. Happy started wailing again.

The Guild broke out in chaos.

:::

Two hours later…

"So you say those two fought over some unknown reason and are not on speaking terms right now?"

Happy nodded, eyeing the female knight nervously.

"A-Aye." Erza nodded and crossed the room again, her red ponytail swishing behind her. In a corner of the room, Gray snorted, while fumbling with the buttons on his shirt.

"Man. To think those two could actually argue." His shirt land with a soft thump on the floor. A sharp look from Erza got him scrambling to put on the shirt again.

Something stirred, and the occupants in the room turned to see Mirajane sitting up in bed. The bar-maid stretched, and smiled at them.

"I had the strangest dream." She giggled. "I dreamt that Natsu and Lucy were arguing and were no longer friends. Oh, that cute couple." She looked expectantly at them. The three of them exchanged looks, and Gray spoke for them.

"Er… I-It wasn't a dream, Mira."

Everyone seemed to hold their breaths.

"It wasn't?"

All three shook their heads. Mirajane nodded. And fell over in a faint again.

Erza sighed. This was going to be a long day.

:::

After leaving Mirajane in her younger sister's hands, the three remaining members of Team Natsu strode out of the infirmary. They stood near the counter, observing the rather subdued guild. Erza took in a deep breath and called out.

"Has anyone seen Natsu or Lucy?"

People exchanged looks, shrugging. Then a soft voice answered.

"I-I believe Lu-chan went on a mission with Cana." Heads turned towards the blue-haired girl. Levy cringed. "I tried to talk her out of it, but you know Lu-chan. When she makes up her mind…" She shrugged, fiddling with the pages of her book.

Before anyone could speak up, the guild doors slammed opened, and a pink-haired boy walked in. His gaze travelled through the silent guild before settling on his team. He beamed, though his smile didn't reach his eyes.

"C'mon guys!" He waved a sheet at them. "I got us a great mission! Lets go right now! Happy!"

The blue feline looked uncertainly at his friend and back at the other two. Erza gave an almost imperceptible nod, and Happy made his way to Natsu's side. Gray looked at Erza, eyebrow raised, before walking over as well. Erza observed the younger boy for a moment before making her way over. If Natsu did not want to talk about it, she would not press him.

Who knows, she thought, maybe it would be good for the two to spend some time apart.

:::

A week later…

She let out a heavy sigh and restrained the urge to slam her head, repeatedly, onto the table. It was a horrible idea, thinking that her two friends might feel better after spending some time apart. Even a blind man could tell Natsu was not coping well without his blond partner.

A plate of strawberry cheese pie was placed in front of her. Erza smiled her thanks, though with what her teammates were going through, she did not have the appetite for even her favourite treat. She picked up her fork and played with the dessert.

"Thank you, Lisanna." The youngest Take-over mage smiled. She was taking over for Mirajane, who was still in mourning over the loss of her favourite couple. "And is he still asking for drinks?" She stared darkly at the drunken mage two seats down.

The white-haired girl sighed. "I've been only giving him watered-down cocktails for the past hour. Either he's really a lousy drinker, or pretending."

"Or maybe he's just sad. Sad people make lousy drinkers." Lisanna shrugged, sighing and went on with her other orders.

"Luucccyyy…" Natsu muttered, sniffing. Happy looked on helplessly, close to tears.

The female knight sighed again, and stabbed at her sweet treat. They had barely managed to scrape by on their previous mission, and Natsu was of no help. After he tried to strangle the guy who hired them and demolished a good half of the town, Erza had to subdue Natsu forcibly and complete the mission without him.

She took a bite of the cheese pie absent-mindedly, throwing glances at the doors. It had been days since they last heard from Lucy, and the red-haired girl hoped that Cana would look after the girl properly.

As if answering her thoughts, the doors slammed open, and a couple stumbled through.

"Is Wendy around?" Erza stared. The blond mage they were pining for had finally reached home! Though the state she was in was not what the redhead wanted to see. Erza was up and by Lucy's side in a flash. She noted the cuts and bruises covering both girls, and the look of exhaustion on the celestial mage's face as she held onto an almost unconscious Cana.

"What happened?" The S-class mage lifted Cana up almost effortlessly, relieving Lucy of the burden. The blond sighed and slumped against the entrance.

"We got ambushed." She sighed. "It was supposed to be a simple escort mission, but somehow we got ambushed by some bandits." Lucy rested her head against the door, exhausted. "It caught us unprepared, but we managed to kick their butts. Though…" She grimaced. "Not without taking some blows and exhausting our magic."

Her eyes closed, and Lucy dropped into a faint. Though before Erza could move a muscle, a blur shot over and caught the blond mage before she hit the floor. The redhead was taken aback by the intensity in the dragonslayer's dark eyes.

"Natsu…"

"Someone get Wendy." All stared as the pink-haired boy lifted his partner up and walked towards the infirmary. "Now."

:::

Hours later…

"Done!" The young girl plopped onto the nearest chair, tired out but satisfied. Wiping a hand across her brow, she flashed a sunny smile at the occupants in the room, namely the other four members of Team Natsu. "They're just mostly superficial wounds. Nothing serious." All turned to look at the bandaged up girls lying on the beds. "Though Lucy-san and Cana-san must be exhausted. Just let them rest for now."

"Thank you, Wendy." The female knight smiled, relieved. "Why don't you go on out and get something to eat? Using your healing magic like that must be tiring as well."

The sky dragonslayer smiled and nodded, leaving them with the two injured girls. When Lucy started stirring, Natsu shot to her side in an instant.

"What's the matter?" Lucy groaned. "Do you want anything? Water?" She nodded and a glass of water found its way into Natsu's hands as he helped his partner sit up, gently placing the glass to her lips. Lucy gulped down the water and stared at her surroundings blearily, before focusing on a concerned Natsu. The two stared at each other for a moment.

"I'm sorry!" Both blurted out, and paused when they realised the other said the same thing. Lucy laughed softly.

"The last few days got me thinking how much I missed you guys." She fiddled with the empty glass. "I mean, Cana's fun! But… but she's not you guys. I miss the laughter, the joking, the teasing. And even Gray's stripping."

"We missed you too."

Lucy blinked and looked up at her grinning teammates, and her eyes watered.

"You guys!" She sniffed and allowed Natsu to pull her into his arms. "I'm sorry! It was all my fault!"

The fire dragonslayer shook his head. "No! It's my fault!"

"My fault!"

"Mine!"

Silence.

Then Lucy pulled back, an annoyed expression on her face. "Would you stop saying that? I already said it was my fault!"

Natsu snorted, crossing his arms. "And I said it was mine!"

They grounded their teeth and glared at the other. Happy looked on helplessly. Before they could argue further, there was a swishing sound as Erza unsheathed her sword and pointed at the couple, her eyes dark with murderous intent. The two gulped as they stared at the shiny, and very sharp looking sword.

"You two knock it off this instant, or I would _hurt_ you." Gray was just glad he wasn't in their shoes.

The couple swallowed hard and huddled together.

"A-Aye sir!"

* * *

He let out a breath, laughing as he remembered the incident. Man, how Erza breathed over their shoulders over the next few months, making sure Lucy and him never got into another argument!

He yawned, staring at the dark sky. It seemed as if the dark clouds were going by now.

Maybe he'd get to see some stars now.

Placing his hands behind his head, he thought back to the third time he nearly lost her. His heart clenched. The third time was almost the last time.

It was downright frightening and scared him shitless.

* * *

It was supposed to be a straight-cut, simple and easy-peasy mission.

He growled, jumping to avoid the attack. The blow landed to his right instead, blowing up the rocks and sending shards across the sky. A wayward shard grazed his cheek, and blood dripped from the superficial wound. Glaring at the smirking mage in front of him, Natsu gritted his teeth and wiped the blood off.

"You bastard."

The dark mage only laughed and made to throw another dark bolt his way. The fire dragonslayer dodged and countered with a flaming fist, which his opponent avoided almost effortlessly. Breathing hard, the pink-haired boy glared at the tall, and lean enemy.

Team Natsu took on a mission two days ago, which required them to find a supposed treasure box, based off a map that was provided. It seemed simple; after all, they had Lucy – the smartest one among them. Easy-peasy, and the promise of half the treasure, Natsu exclaimed as he cajoled his team mates into going for the mission. Now, Natsu breathed hard, they know it was all just a trap set by this travelling group of dark mages – all of whom wanted to eradicate any good mages.

Lucy.

Grounding his teeth, Natsu wanted nothing more than to get rid of the mage in front of him and go to the blond's side. The team was all separated when the surprise attack was launched, and someone used earth magic to create rock walls between each of them. Even with his sensitive hearing, Natsu could barely make out Erza's and Gray's shouts as they fought their own enemy. But Lucy, he frowned, he could not hear Lucy at all.

He turned his attention back towards the dark mage before him.

"If you hurt any of my friends," He snarled. "You will regret it."

The dark mage barked out a laugh. "How scary. Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail." He smirked. "Useless fairies."

Natsu roared and charged. Flames and dark lightning clashed, illuminating the area. The fire dragonslayer panted as he threw blow after blow at his opponent, out for the kill. After several moments of intense battle, smoke and dust cleared to reveal the two figures. Natsu was breathing hard and holding on to his ribs – something broke when the dark mage managed to land a lucky blow. His opponent was breathing slightly faster, though relatively uninjured, save for a gash on his thigh. He surveyed the worn-out Natsu.

"Hmm. Not too bad." He raised an appreciative eyebrow. "Most people would have collapsed by now." He briefly paused, and his eyes darkened as he muttered under his breath. "Useless."

Natsu frowned. One minute the guy was saying he fought well, and the next useless? Before he could think more, a shout caught his attention.

"NATSUUUU!"

His heart leapt, and he looked up to see Happy flying down with Lucy. His heart caught however, when he saw that the girl was not without injuries. The celestial mage panted, wincing when she landed. Deep cuts decorated her arms and legs; blood seemingly everywhere and there was a nasty looking bruise on her bare mid-riff. Though she looked exhausted, she flashed a sunny smile at Natsu, and his heart lifted again. He grinned, and his fighting spirit was back again.

"Lucy Heartfilia." They turned to the mage. "Seems like you're not as useless as I'd thought. To be able to defeat our very own sword mage."

She snorted. "Hah! She was nothing compared to Erza! Just a lousy imitation!"

"NATSU! LUCY!"

All turned up at the call, and Natsu was never more relieved to see both Erza and Gray waving at them from the top. An ice slide was created, and the two mages was by their side in an instant. The fire dragonslayer grinned, facing the sole remaining dark mage.

Team Natsu was back in action.

The enemy raised a brow. "Really? All of you against me? Isn't that cowardly?"

Natsu bristled. "Don't be talking about integrity when you snuck up on us!" The mage laughed, and clapped his hands slowly.

"Well, I guess that means I can't be slacking now."

A strong wind blew and the ground rumbled, causing the Fairy Tail mages to lose their footing. Natsu flinched and stared at the dark aura gathering around the mage. Was his magical power increasing?

As suddenly as it came, the wind died down, and the ground stopped moving. Natsu got to his feet shakily – feeling slightly sick from the ground moving, and shook his head desperately to dispel to queasy feeling.

"You would all die." A harsh, deep voice caught his attention. Natsu looked to see the dark mage morphing into something nightmarish. Dark matter was gathering in his hand, as he got ready for the attack. Creepy red eyes focused on Natsu.

"Starting with you."

It was out of nowhere. Still woozy, and unprepared, Natsu braced himself for the shot, when he felt something colliding into him, sending him flying to the side. The shot fired, and a scream could be heard.

Then utter silence.

Natsu blinked, and looked at himself. He was uninjured. The shot didn't hit him. He blinked in confusion, and the ringing in his ears cleared. He could now hear properly again.

"LUCY!"

If Erza's and Gray's horrified screams did not alert him, the sight of his blue feline crying over the celestial mage's prone body definitely did. Natsu stared, his breath catching, wondering why his blond partner wasn't moving. Before he knew it, he was by the girl's side, pushing Gray and Erza away.

"Lucy?" Strangely, he felt nothing. He picked the girl up, cradling her in his arms. "Lucy?" He shook her slightly. "C'mon. Lucy. Wake up. No time to be sleeping now. Lucy." His heart caught, and tears began pricking his eyes. "Lucy. Lucy. Lucy." He whispered urgently, rocking the girl back and forth. And he heard it.

The soft, slow breaths she was taking. And the slow _ba-dum ba-dum_ her heart was making.

He looked at the girl, unaware of the tears flowing down his face. He felt a spark of hope.

"Natsu." He looked up at Erza's voice. The S-class mage gave a brief nod. "Go. Look for help." She turned back to the remaining enemy. "We'll deal with him."

Though wanting to tear the guy apart from limb to limb, Natsu understood that his friend needed help now. He nodded, and stood, cradling the blond protectively in his arms.

"Happy. I need you to fly the fastest you ever flew and get Wendy. I'm going over to Porlyusica's place."

The blue cat sniffed and nodded, taking off in a blur. Natsu looked at Erza and Gray.

"I'm going ahead first. Kick this guy's ass for us. For her." And without another word, he sprinted off. The dark mage stared, his lips curling.

"Running away? I think n–" An ice wall formed, preventing the dark mage from attacking Natsu. His eyes narrowed and he turned back towards the remaining two mages. Gray smirked as he cracked his knuckles.

"Your opponent is us."

Erza stepped up, ex-quipping into her Purgatory Armour. "For hurting our precious friend, you will experience ten times the pain she did."

The dark mage took a hesitant step back. "F-Fools!" He readied himself and launched another shot. The Fairy Tail mages charged forward at the same instant.

Focused on the laboured breathing of the girl in his hands, Natsu could not hear the shouts and screams behind him as his two friends took down the mage, keeping the promise of letting the guy feel ten times' the pain he had inflicted on their beloved celestial mage.

:::

Lucy slept for two weeks after.

A door creaked and a pink-haired lady stepped out, a broom in hand. She frowned when she noticed the boy camping in front of her house. She pursed her lips and began sweeping the area.

"Didn't I tell you to go back?"

"No."

"Leave, human. There's nothing you can do."

"No."

Porlyusica let out an exasperated sigh, waving her broom in Natsu's direction. "Leave, boy. The girl's fine. You staying here won't help in anything. That little sky maiden would do just fine. So leave."

"No." He looked up, his lips set in a stubborn line. "I'm not leaving 'til Lucy wakes up."

Before she could say more, three other figures stepped through the thick foliage. The elderly lady suppressed a groan.

"Just what I need, more of you." She narrowed her eyes at the group, her broom swinging in their direction. "I said before and I'll say it again. I hate humans, so go home already!"

"Aye. But I'm a cat. So can I go and see Lucy?"

All eyes turned to Happy, who had a paw raised, a hopeful expression in his eyes. The healing mage opened and closed her mouth, unable to retort.

"Fine." She managed to bite out after a moment. "But only for a while." Happy brightened and ran in before the older woman could change her mind.

"Awesome!" Natsu jumped to his feet. "So we can go in too?" A broom swung towards him, whacking him hard on the head. Rubbing the bump, he looked at the older lady, a petulant expression on his face.

"No means no. Are you Fairy Tail mages hard in hearing? No humans. Now go!"

"No humans, I understand." Erza stepped up, nodding, and ex-quipped. All stared at the redhead, eyes wide. Porlyusica sighed, pressing a hand to her suddenly aching head.

"Changing into a bunny suit does not make you any less human."

"…"

Natsu and Gray had a hand pressed on the other's mouth – a rare moment of solidarity – keeping each other from laughing. Otherwise, laughing at the sight of Erza Scarlet decked in a full, fluffy bunny costume would ensure a fate worse than death itself.

Before anyone could say anything else though, a squeal could be heard, and Happy came flying out. He tugged on the elder's shawl, an anxious expression on his face.

"C-Come quick! L-Lucy!"

The three standing outside dashed in before the healing mage could stop them, ignoring the lady's indignant protests. Natsu reached the blond the fastest, and knelt by the bed, out of breath. His eyes took in the sight of his friend, all bandaged up, and bruises littering on what skin that could be seen. His breath hitched when the girl stirred, a groan leaving her lips as her eyes fluttered open.

She blinked once, twice and looked around herself, then looked sideways to see a teary Natsu. Though it was hurting like hell, she took in a deep breath, a small smile spreading across her face.

"Sorry for making you guys worried."

Needless to say, they were all yelled at – and chased out with a broom – by the raging mage for trying to hug their blond teammate, forgetting in their moment of happiness that the celestial mage still had severe and painful injuries.

* * *

He sighed and smiled, sending a grateful prayer to the heavens for not taking his friend away. The dark clouds had mostly cleared now, and it didn't seem like rain was coming anymore, though he had yet to see any stars.

His sensitive ears pick out a soft creak as the window opened.

"Natsu?"

His lips curled at her soft voice.

"Natsu?" She spoke louder. "Is that you on my roof-top?"

When he didn't reply, she called again, irritation creeping into her voice. "I can hear you, you know."

"Fine. Be like that." He sat up, wondering what the girl was going to do next. He listened. There was a grunting sound – like someone exerting strength – and then a soft 'eep'. He got on all fours, and crawled to the edge.

Coming face-to-face with a terrified looking Lucy Heartfilia, who was standing precariously on her window ledge.

He reached out immediately and grabbed hold of her arm, pulling her up almost effortlessly. Once the two were seated on the rooftop, and Lucy managed to catch her breath, he turned to her crossly.

"Seriously, Lucy. You wanna get injured again?" He eyed the few bandages left from their fight and their last near miss.

She pouted, though there was a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Well, you didn't wanna answer me, so I had to find out myself. What if it had been some pervert trying to peep in?" She crossed her arms across her ample chest. "I had to do something!"

She looked at him, a curious look in her eyes. "What are you doing up here anyway?"

"Stargazing."

A quirk of her eyebrow. "What stars?"

He waved his hand dismissively. "They're up there somewhere."

She laughed softly, the chime-like sound calming him instantly. They sat in comfortable silence for a moment.

"Natsu?"

"Hmm?"

"It's not your fault, you know." He turned to her. She gestured at herself. "You always protected your friends. Me. So sometimes, let me protect you too. 'Kay?" She beamed, and he wondered why his face felt like it was on fire. He turned away, clenching his hand into a fist.

"But you almost died, Lucy."

"But I didn't."

"But you could."

"And I didn't."

"Still, I should have protected you better."

"…"

He felt her stirring beside him as she stood. She looked down at him, her hand beckoning him.

"Natsu, stand up."

Though confused, the fire dragonslayer complied, and the two were soon standing, pink and blond hair moving in the gentle breeze. Lucy pointed. "Look at that, Natsu." He turned, squinting in the direction she was indicating.

"Wha – AHHH!"

One minute the pink-haired boy was staring in the far distant of Magnolia, and the next the ground was rushing up to meet him. He scrambled for control, and flipped, managing to land on his feet, unscathed. He frowned, his neck craning as he looked upwards, and his breath caught. The moonlight illuminating her golden hair seemed to give her an almost angelic look.

Like a star, he marvelled.

He shook his head, and replaced the petulant expression, rubbing his backside when Lucy had given it a swift kick. "What was that for, Lucy!"

There was a cheeky grin on her face as she looked down at her trusted partner. "Natsu." She closed her eyes, and stretched her hands.

"Catch me."

And she was free falling off the roof.

His eyes widened and he rushed forwards, barely catching her in his arms. Breathing hard, he looked at the giggling girl in his arms. She grinned.

"Now we're even."

He stared down at her, and a reluctant smile tugged at his lips. He let out an almost inaudible sigh and walked towards her front door, Lucy still in his arms.

"C'mon, Lucy. It's late. Time for bed."

"Hmm? What about your stargazing?"

He already had his star, and by his side, no less. Though he just kept silent and kicked her door shut.

"Night, Natsu."

"Night, Lucy."

"…"

"H-Hey, wait! I didn't say you could sleep in my bed!" A loud snore, and a frustrated groan.

"NATSU!"

* * *

a/n: Wow. This has got to be the longest one-shot ever. Eeps.

Thanks for having the patience to read through this entire thing. I had wanted to break this into two/three chaps, but I thought doing so would break the flow of the story, which I really don't want. So here we are, with this looong story ^^;

I'm still relatively new to writing FT fanfics, and this is my third one. Apologies if I got Natsu out-of-character, but I guess I just wanted him to just be a 'lil more grown up.

On a side-note, I'm on a roll, man! 3 FT stories in a row! =D

Well, I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! It took me four days to write everything down, and it would be wonderful if you could spare a little time and leave a review. Constructive criticism welcomed.

Cheers!


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